The Ontario Hockey League's championship series kicks off tonight at 7 PM as the Windsor Spitfires host the Brampton Battalion (backstopped by Red Wings prospect Thomas McCollum), and the Windsor Star's Jim Parker found that the Spitfires feel more than ready to get down to the business of winning:

April 29, Windsor Star: The Windsor Spitfires are looking to fill those final four boxes. T-shirts sold throughout the playoffs have featured 16 boxes to be filled in with each playoff win. A dozen wins down and four wins to go and the Spitfires will hoist the J. Ross Robertson Cup as Ontario Hockey League champion for the first time in 21 years.

"Once the puck drops, everyone can feel how close we are now," Spitfires head coach Bob Boughner said.

Game 1 of the best-of-seven final against the Brampton Battalion is Wednesday night at the WFCU Centre (7 p.m., [Rogers TV/TV Cogeco in Windsor], live blog at windsorstar.com).

"Home ice is big," Spitfires forward Lane MacDermid said. "You get that win on home ice and it puts the pressure on them."

As Parker notes, however, both teams re-tooled significantly after the teams completed their pair of regular-season meetings:

Battalion director of hockey operations and head coach Stan Butler was extra busy. In five deals over three days, he grabbed goalie Thomas McCollum from Guelph, defenceman Josh Day from Niagara, forward Matthew Kang from Kingston, forward Andrew Merrett from Niagara and forward Anthony Peluso from Sault Ste. Marie.

"Stan did a real good job of adding parts and addressing needs," Boughner said.

Butler added depth, but the Brampton offence is still built around three players -- Matt Duchene, [Cody] Hodgson and [Evgeni] Grachev. Those three have nearly 56 per cent of Brampton's goals in the playoffs, having scored 33 of the team's 59 goals.

Butler spoke in an OHL teleconference on Tuesday, and the Battalion's website took note of his comments:

April 29, Battalionhockey.com: The Troops swept Peterborough in four games in the first playoff round and beat the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors in six games in the second. The Spitfires swept the Owen Sound Attack before eliminating the Plymouth Whalers in six games.

"We're playing a very special team that has been the top team in the country all season," Battalion coach Stan Butler said Tuesday at a Toronto news conference. "They've done a great job building that team, and we realize we're up against an extremely talented team. We're looking forward to getting started."

Spitfires coach Bob Boughner, speaking via telephone from Windsor, said the series will be great for the OHL.

"It's going to be high-energy. It's going to be very fast. It's going to be physical. It'll be terrific hockey."

McCollum also happened to take part in an interview on Battalionhockey.com, discussing the task at hand as he prepares to stifle the Spitfires' prolific offence:

April 27, Battalionhockey.com: he Spitfires, who have scored 79 goals in 15 postseason games on the way to the Western Conference title, host the Battalion in the opener of the best-of-seven OHL Championship Series at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday. Windsor produced 311 goals in 68 regular-season games, 24 more than the second-best total, by the London Knights, whom the Spitfires defeated in five games, all decided in overtime, in the Western Conference Championship Series.

"I'm extremely excited," McCollum said Monday. "I think it'll be a lot of fun for the guys. I know there will plenty of shots, and that'll keep me in the flow of the game. I know as long as I play well the guys will go out and get some goals."

McCollum, a 19-year-old resident of Sanborn, N.Y., played the Spitfires twice this season while with the Guelph Storm.

"I know their style," said McCollum, who was acquired in a trade Jan. 9. "They love to throw the puck to the net and crash hard. As long as I can control my rebounds and fight through the screens, I should be okay."

McCollum has played the entire postseason for the Battalion, posting a won-lost record of 12-4 with one shutout, a 2.62 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage.
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"Windsor relies a lot on skill, whereas Belleville was a team that could grind it out. We'll see a real run-and-gun approach from Windsor, and it'll be my job to hold down the fort."

McCollum also knows that the Red Wings' braintrust will evaluate his performance on an in-person basis:

"It wouldn't surprise me at all if they came out," said McCollum, who speaks regularly with Detroit goaltending coach Jim Bedard. "They're happy with how things have been going for me. Jim was at Game 6 against Belleville, and he's seen me play quite a bit lately."

If you're interested in further reading regarding this series, Ontariohockeyleague.com's Aaron Bell wrote a comprehensive series preview, and I'd highly suggest that you take in a game if you can:

April 28, OntarioHockeyLeague.com: Game 1 - Wednesday April 29, 7:05 at Windsor
Game 2 - Friday May 1, 7:30 at Brampton
Game 3 - Monday May 4, 7:05 at Windsor
Game 4 - Wednesday May 6, 7:00 at Brampton
Game 5 - Friday May 8, 7:05 at Windsor *
Game 6 - Saturday May 9, 7:30 at Brampton *
Game 7 - Monday May 11, 7:05 at Windsor *